


Love Has a Face

by I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own



Series: Malec One Shots [7]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Depiction of Major Character Death that doesn't actuall occur...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 08:36:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18407000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own/pseuds/I_have_a_Mycroft_of_my_very_own
Summary: Alec takes matters into his own hands, Asmodeus asks a different price





	Love Has a Face

**Author's Note:**

> So, the first three thousand odd words of this was written before this weeks episode (was literally written last night, but what evs) and the last thousand or so was written after I sobbed over this weeks episode and next weeks promo... so I tried to blend those two things together, not quite sure if I managed but, you know.
> 
> I'm posting this before bed, but there are probably a thousand spelling/grammar issues with this but I have to be awake and on a bus in six hours so.... uhm, I'll fix it later. Enjoy :)

  _Slowly fading away,  
You're lost and so afraid._  
_Where is the hope in a world so cold?_  
_Looking for a distant light,_  
_Someone who could save a life._  
_You're living in fear that no one will hear your cries-_  
_Can you save me now?_

  _Your heart is full of broken dreams,_  
_Just a fading memory,_  
_And everything's gone but the pain carries on._  
_Lost in the rain again,_  
_When will it ever end?_  
_The arms of relief seem so out of reach,_  
_But I, I am here._  
~Not Alone, Red

* * *

Alec watches the way Magnus tries to be happy and utterly fails. Alec’s not always been the most observant person, and when it comes to Magnus, he’s sometimes let himself _not_ see some of the things he should have seen, because he didn’t want to fight, or because he saw how desperate Magnus was for him not to see, so he let it go and he shouldn’t have.

After the body swap with Valentine was fixed and behind them, he’d ignored the way Magnus would sometimes drift away somewhere far into the past, leaving Alec behind him in the present. He’d ignored the little slips in the façade when Magnus lost his position as High Warlock. He’d stubbornly pretended like Magnus wasn’t floundering in his new magicless state. Ignoring it all, pretending like Magnus had it all well in hand, has lead them here. Where Magnus feels so empty and useless without his magic, he’s willing to give his life for the possibility of holding even a smidgen of the power he once had at his fingertips.

They’re here, where Magnus gives him fake smiles that he might not have questioned before, but that now leave a bitter taste in his mouth at the sight of. They’re here, where Magnus says all the right words and smiles at all the right times, but Alec knows he doesn’t feel any of it. He knows it would be easy to ignore it all again, to propose like he wants to and pretend like Magnus would be happy if he said yes, but Alec already knows that would be a lie. A crutch he can give Magnus to point to and say ‘look, I’m getting married, of course I’m happy. Of course, I’m adjusting to mortal life’, and Alec doesn’t want to do that. He wants to marry Magnus, but he wants to marry a Magnus who is just as happy to marry him. He doesn’t want to marry a shell of the man he loves.

That’s what leads him here, standing outside the loft, Lorenzo’s loft, now. Standing outside the place that sheltered and protected him as he and Magnus figured each other out. The place he thought would always be his sanctuary. He takes a deep breath in and knocks on the door, Lorenzo wants to be High Warlock, wants the prestige and the powers, he can deal with the unhappy side of things, too.

“Alexander.” The high warlock states, frowning at him as he waves Alec in, closing the door behind him. “If this is about the loft-“

“This isn’t about the loft. I couldn’t care less if you can sleep like a baby after stealing from one of your vulnerable members.” Alec states, rolling his eyes. “I’m here for the services of the High Warlock. I need a portal to Edom, and before you argue, you’re the High Warlock of Brooklyn, the designated port of call for Shadowhunters in need of a Warlock’s aid.” Alec points out, smirking. “If you choose to refuse me, I’ll go to the High Warlocks of the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Queens, and on through the rest of the High Warlocks in America and the World as a whole until one of them helps me. I’ll be sure to mention just how disappointed I am that the High Warlock of Brooklyn has decided to let his own petty feelings get in the way of his role as Intermediary between the Clave and the Warlocks under his care.”

“Interesting you say that, as you normally seek out your boyfriend to assist you.” Lorenzo argues, glaring darkly at Alec, the corner of his lip twitching.

“Perhaps you should read the Accords again. Former High Warlocks are able to help the Clave at their own discretion, with or without the approval of their current High Warlock. You’ll find Catarina Loss will be getting a reminder of this over the next few weeks, she was briefly High Warlock in Spain before she was almost burnt at the stake for witchcraft, wasn’t she?” Alec asks, cocking his head to the side. “You see, I’ve sat back and ignored your blatant abuse of your power and position, but you’re hurting the people I love and I won’t stand for it any longer.” He raises his hand and shakes his head when Lorenzo moves to speak. “I thank you for taking your magic back and saving Magnus’ life, but he wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place if you’d agreed to help us with Lilith, as was your duty under the Accords. I need your assistance as the High Warlock to make a trip to Edom, as I said, if you won’t help me, I’ll find a High Warlock who will, and I’m not afraid of trashing your good name as I go.”

“Why do you need to go to Edom?”

“To check that Lilith is still contained, but ultimately it’s none of your business. Will you help me or not?” Alec asks, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.

“I will make you a portal to Edom, but you’ll have to find your own way back.” Lorenzo warns, Alec grins.

“Thank you. I’m sure I’ll work something out.” Alec assures him, follows Lorenzo into the apothecary and watches as the warlock sets up the portal, Alec stepping inside. “You get to claim one favour from me that doesn’t harm anyone I care about.” Alec tells Lorenzo, gritting his teeth against the pain of the fire. “Just one.”

“Don’t die over there, Lightwood.” Lorenzo warns before Alec is engulfed in darkness.

* * *

He wakes up in a barren wasteland as far as the eye can see. When he turns in circles, there’s destroyed buildings scattered around, but no visible life, not even a glimpse of the Asmodai or the Lilim.

“Shadowhunter.” An unfamiliar voice calls, Alec spins around and around looking for the voice but unable to find the source. “This is our domain, Shadowhunter. You have no power here.”

“I come in search of Asmodeus, I wish to make a deal.” Alec states, finally standing still, choosing not to seek out the voice.

“Interesting.” Alec startles when a man suddenly appears right in front of him, he stumbles backwards and falls to the earth with a thud, the man just laughs. “Clumsy for a Shadowhunter.” The man states, and Alec stares at their face, transfixed unable to look away from the eyes staring back at him, eyes he’s become as intimately familiar with as his own. Eyes he refuses to admit that he’s been missing.

“Asmodeus.”

“Speak the terms of your deal, Shadowhunter, then you will begone of this place.” Asmodeus states, as Alec pushes himself back up onto his feet and dusts himself down.

“I want you to name a price for returning Magnus’ magic and immortality.” Alec says, refusing to stumble over the words, refusing to hesitate, to second guess himself.

“Ah, you must be his Shadowhunter. What was your name again? Lysander? Xander? Sander? Alexander! That’s the one. Alexander Lightwood. Head of the New York Institute.” Asmodeus says, looking Alec up and down and raising an unimpressed eyebrow. “I don’t quite see what he sees in you, but he always had rather a peculiar taste.”

“Name your price.” Alec demands, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the demon.

“Is dearest Maggie having second thoughts?” Asmodeus asks, an amused smile forming on his face. “Buyers regret?”

“That’s none of your business. Just name your price.”

“Boy, I named my price, a price to solve your Lilith problem and let Maggie keep his magic. My son threw it back in my face! _No_. He had his chance.” Asmodeus answers, shaking his head and turning away.

“He’s not here, I am. I demand your price!” Alec snaps, refusing to let Asmodeus turn him away, not for this.

“Perhaps I didn’t quite understand the situation.” Asmodeus considers, slowly turning to look Alec up and down again. “Yes, perhaps I was a bit hasty in my dealings with little Maggie.” Asmodeus allows, reaching out to play with the strands of Alec’s hair, Alec forces himself not to flinch, not to pull away. “I see now.”

“What is your price?” Alec asks again, hears the desperation in his own voice and curses himself.

“Three hundred years in Edom!” Asmodeus finally announces, Alec’s face crumpling in confusion. “You and Maggie, ruling at my side for three hundred years. In return for your agreement to this, I will grant Maggie his powers back and I will give you both immortality.”

“What?” Alec exclaims, the confusion only growing.

“When your parents and siblings have finally passed from the world, you will come here, and you will rule by my side.” Asmodeus repeats, nodding his head. “Yes, that is my price.

“I can’t agree for Magnus.” Alec answers, shaking his head, but Asmodeus just laughs.

“Dearest, if you come here, he will follow. Where you go, he goes, and where he goes, you go. That is the way of fools in love.” Then the demon snorts and rolls his eyes. “Soulmates, two halves of the same whole. So, what say you, Shadowhunter? Do you agree to the price?”

“Immortality?” Alec asks, the word almost being swallowed in his sudden nervousness, his mouth suddenly dry. “What does that entail?”

“A kiss.” Asmodeus explains with a smirk, he waves his hand and from the dirt on the floor a scene begins to form. “There were Nephilim who walked this earth before your kind, Shadowhunter. The Nephilim were the true offspring of an angel and a mundane, but they were born with more power than was their right to possess. Immortal, magical, able to be marked, fertile, and oh so filled to the brim with pride and greed. They travelled from one edge of the globe to the other, enslaving my father’s creations. We were tasked with purging them from the face of the earth, and we did so, for our love for our father was so great then, greater even than our love for our own children.”

“Afterwards, when the next generation of Nephilim were born, we were tasked with removing from them their immortality at birth, that they might live a mortal life and die before ever gaining the strength to be what they were before. Nephilim were born so rarely after that and after the Fall, they were forbidden, until your lot. So, I have _one_ sliver of immortality to offer, just one.”

“How immortal? Like Magnus was immortal or like you and Lilith?” Alec asks, when he finds his voice, after gaping like a fish at the scene that had played out before him, Nephilim and angels fighting and killing each other, Nephilim being born and instantly taken way by their angel parents to have their immortality removed, then they were placed back with their mortal parents and left to grow, wither, and die.

“The kind of immortality Lilith and I possess cannot be gifted, cannot be traded. You would be as immortal as Maggie, no more, no less.” Asmodeus answers, waving his hand again and the scene swirls to show Alec and Magnus, walking along a path, their clothing, the buildings, the people around them, and the very path they walk on changing, warping, while they remain exactly the same, as if they’re stepping through time, observing it, rather than being something actually apart of it. “If you refuse, I will not offer again.” Asmodeus assures, waving his hand and Alec stares transfixed as the dirt shifts to show who he assumes to be himself, years and years from now, old, frail, blind, and evidently confined to bed. In a chair at his bedside sits Magnus, looking as young and beautiful as he does now, clutching tightly to future Alec’s hand and sobbing, speaking words that Alec cannot hear.

“He… he’s not immortal now.” Alec whispers, unable to look away, Asmodeus snorts and shakes his head.

“Maggie is persistent, if you refuse me, he’ll find a way to get back what is his. Whether you’re at his side after he does so, that remains to be seen.” Asmodeus says, shrugging his shoulders. “Make your choice.” He demands, as Alec watches himself dying, watching Magnus grow progressively more desperate until Magnus is all but crawling on the bed, pulling future Alec’s withered excuse for a body into his arms and silently begging over and over, magic burning at Magnus' fingertips, to no avail.

“I accept your price, for me. If Magnus doesn’t follow me, that’s on you.” Alec answers, wrenching himself away from the sight, turning his back on it and closing his eyes, anything to stop him from having to watch that ever again.

“Very well.” Alec hears, then Asmodeus grip is on his shoulder, spinning him around and suddenly Asmodeus’ lips are on his own and Alec breathes in on a gasp, and feels something fundamental change within him as he does. Before he can figure it out, Asmodeus is pulling away from him with a laugh.

“Many happy returns and all that.” The demon says, pressing a crystal ball into Alec’s trembling hands. “Crush this against Magnus’ chest, would you?” Asmodeus asks, before raising his hand again. “I’ll be seeing you, Alexander Lightwood. Defy me, and I will take back everything that I have given you, with interest.” He promises, before Alec finds himself in a pentagram of fire, screaming at the unexpected pain.

* * *

He wakes up on his hands and knees, gasping and choking on the floor of his bedroom, the crystal ball resting beside his hands. He’s still struggling to find his breath when gentle hands reach out to grip his shoulders and a familiar and beloved voice sounds in his ears.

“Alexander?” Alec sits himself up, quickly, still gasping as he reaches up and smashes the crystal ball against Magnus’ chest. “Ale-?” Magnus starts to ask, before he’s suddenly gasping and falling to the floor beside Alec, engulfed in a brilliant red and blue glow.

“Magnus?” Alec mumbles, clenching his eyes shut against the light show, and reaching for Magnus, but finding his hands scrambling against an invisible wall as Magnus’ jerks and whimpers on the floor beside him. Eventually the light-show ends and Alec’s eyes fly open and he looks frantically at his lover, finds Magnus has rolled himself onto his hands and knees and is groaning softly. “Magnus?”

“What did you do?” Magnus asks, between panting breathes.

“Something dumb.” Alec answers, coughing and lying back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling that is as familiar to him as the ceiling at Magnus’ loft had become. “Your father is terrifying and he’s so not invited to our wedding.” He groans, before freezing up, realizing what he’s said.

“Right, our possible wedding aside, when and how did you meet my father?” Magnus asks, manoeuvring himself to sit beside Alec, looking down at the Shadowhunter with such an annoyed and disappointed look on his face, Alec cringes.

“I might have taken a portal to Edom.” Alec admits, closing his eyes against that specific look on Magnus’ face that he knows will only get worse.

“For my magic? Alec-“

“You told me you’d rather be dead than without magic.” Alec points out, sitting up quickly and turning to frown at Magnus. “What did you think I’d do with that, Magnus? You said you’d rather not be here at all, than to be here with me, without magic.”

“I didn’t mean-“

“I know what you meant.” Alec says, cutting Magnus off before he can make excuses. “When you went to Edom, I told you to come back to me, I tried to ignore it, because your magic isn’t important to me, not the way _you_ are, so I tried to brush it aside, accepted when you told me you were fine, but... I told you to come back to me and you didn’t.”

“Alec-“

“You left something integral to your sense of self there and I deluded myself into thinking you’d get by without it, tricked myself into thinking you’d survive without it because you came back to me, like you promised, but you didn’t. The Magnus Bane that went to Edom is not the Magnus Bane that came back, he wasn’t my Magnus Bane. The Magnus Bane I fell in love with wouldn’t tell me to be happy for him as he killed himself before my eyes.”

“Alec-“

“So, if magic is so important to you, something you require so desperately you’re willing to throw your entire life away for it, then it’s important to me, too. Because you haven’t given me a choice. So, yeah, I went to Edom, and I talked with your father, and I asked him his price, and when he named it, I paid it because I had to. Because despite the fact he offered you something in price that wasn’t your magic, you chose the price you couldn’t live with.” Alec says, angry suddenly in a way he doesn’t really understand, but goes with anyway.

“No, what did you-“

“So, when my parents and my siblings are gone, I’m going to Edom for three hundred years, to sit at Asmodeus’ side and rule with him as a Prince of Hell, you can come with me, if you want. But that’s the price I’ve agreed to pay, to get your magic back and to become immortal. Your father thinks you’ll follow me along, go to Edom because I’m there, but I told him if you didn’t follow and all he ended up with was me, that was his problem, not mine.” Alec explains, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around his legs. “I don’t care what you decide either way, but as long as you’re still here to choose, that’s all I want.”

“Alexander.” Magnus breathes, closing his eyes and obviously trying to settle himself. “Why are you angry at me? I should be angry at you! You’re a Shadowhunter, you can’t just… go off and rule a _Hell Realm!_ ”

“Well, I just broke the Law in about a thousand ways, my days as a Shadowhunter are over.” Alec admits, the anger within him suddenly becoming something so desolate and agonized in a way he cannot explain and he closes his eyes against the pain that lances through him. “Huh, I guess I just… guess I just threw my whole life away, didn't I? Oh.”

“Alexander.”

“Wow, is this how you felt without your magic? Because I… totally understand now.” Alec mumbles, feeling all of a sudden light headed and woozy. “Hmm, I’m just gonna-“ and then the darkness catches him and he knows nothing more.

* * *

Alec wakes to a familiar warm weight pressed against his back, he lets out a small sigh, relieved that Magnus decided to stay with him, rather than leave him to wake up alone.

“Alexander?” Magnus mumbles, sitting up and looking down at Alec. “I was thinking while you were… hmm, let's go with _recovering_ from your trip to Edom. I was thinking about what you said about breaking the law. You haven’t. Not yet, anyway.”

“What?”

“I haven’t read through all of your laws, mostly just the ones that applied to Downworlders, but I read up on a lot when I was trying to help Izzy.” Magnus clarifies, turning away from Alec and fiddling with his rings. “It’s not against the Law for Shadowhunters to go to Edom. It’s also not against the Law for Shadowhunters to make deals with demons, frowned upon? Yes. Illegal? No. Ruling at my father’s side, though, that’s where you’d cross the line, but you haven’t done that yet.”

“But I will.” Alec answers, shifting and pushing himself to sit up.

“Alec-“

“No, I will. If I don’t, you lose your magic again and I lose my immortality.” Alec says, cutting Magnus off and shaking his head. “If I cheat him, he takes it all back, with interest, whatever that means.” Alec explains, before frowning at Magnus. “Would it really be so bad? Ruling in Edom?” he asks, reaching out to grasp Magnus’ hands in his own, Magnus is slow to look up and meet his eyes, when he does, the eyes that stare back at Alec are golden and so anguished.

“Edom is not a nice place.” Magnus answers, his voice small in a way Magnus never is. “You’ve seen what happened with Jonathan.”

“Your father never-“

“No.” Magnus pauses, then opens his mouth to speak, but instead, bites his lip and looks away, clearly wanting to say something but unable to give voice to the words.

“Magnus?”

“He could have asked you for anything.” Magnus finally says, shaking his head.

“I’d have given it.” Alec promises, squeezing Magnus’ hands. “I love you. You’re worth any price I’d have had to pay.”

“My father would never physically hurt me the way Lilith hurt Jonathan, but my father is not above breaking my heart to prove my failings to me, Alexander.” Magnus assures Alec, breathing in heavily. “What if his price was you breaking up with me and leaving forever? No immortality. No ruling in Edom. Just my magic back, and you gone, for good?”

I don’t…” Alec starts to speak but trails off quickly into silence, having nothing to say. “If it would… if it would save your life…” He tries again, but the words still fail him. 

“Alexander-“

“You told me you’d… if it would save your life, I’d do it, in a heartbeat. If the only thing that would keep you living was for me to leave your life for good, I’d be on the next flight out of the city. I’d find somewhere to buy a boat, and I’d spend the rest of my days out on the open waters, unable to be traced by you, Jace, or anyone. If it was the only thing that would save you, I’d say yes. There’s no other choice.” Alec answers, sounding so earnest.

“My magic isn’t worth that!” Magnus exclaims, but Alec is already shaking his head.

“You’ve already proven it is.” Alec argues, a sad smile on his face. “You already said, you couldn’t... wouldn’t, don’t know how to live without your magic. You told me once, that you thought that you couldn’t have both me and the Downworld and since that was the choice you thought was before you, you chose the Downworld. You’ve already proven who wins if it’s a choice between me and the Downworld. Between me and your magic.”

“Alexander.”

“You told me you thought dying might be better than living without your magic. Clearly, I’m not enough on my own to keep you alive, but you were doing alright before you met me, when all you had was your magic, so, you’ll do alright if I was gone.” Alec says, shrugging his shoulders.

“No.” Magnus disagrees, frantically shaking his head. “There isn’t a competition between you and my magic. You’re… _everything_ , Alexander. But my magic is… it’s my _soul_.” Magnus says, pulling his hands from Alec’s to gently rest them over the _Parabatai_ rune on Alec’s side. “Do you remember how hurt you were when Jace was… when he was dead? Remember how empty you felt? That’s how I felt without my magic. Like someone tore out my soul and I was just… _here._ Forced to go on without something so integral to myself.” Magnus explains, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. “It’s not a competition, my magic is my soul and you are my heart. I’m lost without either. I’d probably get over it, eventually, if I… if I survived.”

“Magnus.” Alec breathes, pressing his hands down over Magnus’ where they still rest over his _Parabatai_ rune.

“Without you, I wouldn’t still be here.” Magnus admits, with a shaky little laugh. “I don’t know why I’d have given up my magic for anyone I didn’t love as much as I love you, and I don’t know how to love anyone as much as I love you, but if I had given up my magic, and I didn’t have you, I wouldn’t be here. If I'd come back from Edom and you had died because of the arrow, because I couldn't heal you, if I was forced to watch you die right in front of me, I’d have-" Magnus pauses, swallows thickly and looks down at their joined hands, then up at Alec "I'd have found the nearest bridge and I’d have thrown myself off it.”

“Magnus-”

“So, please, _please_ don’t think I don’t love you, or that I wouldn’t want to spend a single lifetime with you if it was all that I could have. I’d want that, but without my magic, I’d never really be there with you the way you deserve. I’d always be reaching for something that was no longer there. I’d always be searching for that part of myself that I’d lost.” Magnus explains, pulling his hands free to look down at them, magic sparking the tips, that beautiful blue that soothes them both.

“I’m sorry.” Alec whispers, moving forward to wrap his arms around Magnus and pull him close. “I didn’t think about… I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, I know.” Magnus assures him, pulling away to look into his eyes. “One day, you’re going to lose Jace, for good, and I’m just sorry we won’t be able to fix that for you.”

“It gets better.” Alec promises, swallowing heavily and looking away. “The bond is only supposed to sever at one or both of our deaths, so if that’s what causes it, it’s a quick burst of pain and a few months, maybe a few years of emptiness, but eventually, it fades, becomes an echo that you’re able to live with.”

“But-“

“Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried.” Alec murmurs, letting out a sigh. “A part of me will die with him, like I think a part of you stayed in Edom with your magic. Jace will forever have a piece of my soul, even when he’s long dead, I won’t get it back, and even when he’s long dead, I’ll still carry a piece of his soul with me. That was the agreement we made. Where he dies, that part of me dies and where I die, that part of him dies. The bond is kinder for those whose bond is severed by death.”

“Hmm, so I won’t be watching you fall into an eternal depression, then?” Magnus asks, his words teasing, but there’s nothing joking about the look in his eyes.

“No, I promise.”

“Okay, now, what was the real reason for last nights dinner, that I ruined?” Magnus questions, raising an eyebrow as he abruptly changes the subject, Alec gratefully rolls with it as he snorts and rolls his eyes, considers coming clean.

“I’m not exactly feeling the romance right now, Magnus, you really want me to tell you?” Alec queries, with a grin.

“Don’t keep me in suspense, Alexander. You never throw fancy dinners just because, that’s more my role in this relationship.” Magnus argues, leaning forward into Alec’s space to press a kiss to his lips. “I do so love you, but sometimes I feel like you’d get hives if I tried to be as romantic as I want to be.”

“That’s definitely not true, and I’ll have you know that I did attempt to be romantic for this, and I re-planned everything after last night, but if you insist.” Alec states, sighing heavily and pulling the ring box from his pocket, pressing it carefully into Magnus’ hands without further comment. Magnus raises that eyebrow again and looks askance of Alec who refuses to give him any clues.

“Oh alright, I’m intrigued.” Magnus admits, before gently opening the box and his jaw drops open as he stares down at the ring, utterly speechless.

“Too soon?” Alec questions, when Magnus doesn’t speak even after at least a minute has gone by.

“You were going to propose to me and I started a fight.” Magnus exclaims, unable to take his eyes from the ring. “You were going to propose to me and I ruined the whole thing.”

“I’m still proposing to you, if you want.” Alec says, before Magnus can go further down that track. “Otherwise… I mean, I guess it’s my turn to stalk you all over this stupid city? Isn’t that what finally got me to agree to date you in the first place?”

“Honestly, I think I turned the last stalker I had to ashes.” Magnus admits, sounding far away.

“Well, aren’t we both lucky I don’t have that ability.” Alec points out, causing Magnus to burst into laughter.

“So, are you going to say the words?” Magnus asks, finally looking up from the ring to give Alec another questioning glance.

“If you’re going to say yes.” Alec answers, with a frown. “I’ve already gone out on a limb once today; I don’t really want to throw myself off another cliff without the assurance of a safe landing.”

“Why would you ever think I’d say no?” Magnus queries, his face scrunched up in such confusion that Alec leans forward to press a gentle kiss to Magnus’ furrowed brows.

“You might not be ready.” Alec answers, when he pulls away.

“I have you, I have my magic, and we have a future that doesn’t end abruptly. I’m ready, Alexander. If you ask, I’ll say yes.” Magnus promises, looking down at the ring again.

“Right, well then, Magnus Bane, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband in eternal matrimony?” Alec asks, with a nervous little grin. Magnus smiles and presses a kiss to his lips, kissing away the nerves.

“Of course, my dear, all you ever had to do, was ask.”

* * *

  _I am with you,_  
_I will carry you through it all._  
_I won't leave you, I will catch you,_  
_When you feel like letting go._  
_'Cause you're not, you're not alone._  
  
_And I'll be your hope when you feel like it's over,_  
_And I will pick you up when your whole world shatters._  
_And when you're finally in my arms,_  
_Look up and see love has a face._

 _And I will be your hope,_  
_You're not alone._  
 _And I will pick you up,_  
 _And I will be your hope._

~Not Alone, Red


End file.
